


Out of the Mouths of Babes

by Mustangsjoeka



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Garashir - Freeform, Gen, M/M, Pre-Relationship, also i don't know who children work so I hope molly seems like a real person, miles doesn't like garak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:41:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27583550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mustangsjoeka/pseuds/Mustangsjoeka
Summary: Julian is left to care for Molly for a day. Minor injuries and the need for emergency tailoring visits allow Molly to hone her observation skills.
Relationships: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak, julian bashir/elim garak (pre-relationship)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 75





	Out of the Mouths of Babes

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first ds9 fic I have posted although I have many in the works.  
> Many thanks to the wonderful ectogeo (@plain_and_simple_tailor) for editing and for idea bouncing!

Garak’s afternoon had, so far, been entirely uneventful. He had a few customers in his shop throughout the day, all with rather mundane orders, purchases, or alterations. He sat at his work table with what Dr. Bashir had, with delight, dubbed a monocle on and a light focused on the garment in front of him.

* * *

Dr. Bashir’s had, however, been quite eventful. He had been left in charge of little Molly O’Brien while the Chief worked and before Keiko O’Brien was due to return from a short trip to Bajor. Molly, her long black hair in a plait that went down past her waist, was proudly wearing a new skirt that had been sent from her grandparents on Earth. The pleated skirt was long enough to brush the tops of her shoes and was made from a very fine Terran wool. She and Julian spent an enjoyable morning in the lab where Julian was positively gleeful to have such an attentive and curious audience for his explanation of the tests he was running on tissue cultures from Cardassian voles in a cell line he named C19.

They then ate a rather hurried lunch sitting on the floor of Julian’s quarters where Molly could spread out her drawings for him to admire. Molly bolted down her lunch faster than Julian did and when she hopped up to put her plate away, her long skirt caught under her and sent her tumbling to the floor. The plate shattered under her hands and left her with several shards of replicated ceramic in her palms.

“Molly!” Julian launched himself over to her and plucked her up out of the shards to put her on the couch. She sat and looked at her palms that were filled with many little pinpricks of blood. “Stay here. I have a medkit in my bathroom.”

Julian sprinted to his bathroom, mumbling under his breath. “Miles is going to kill me.”

“It doesn’t hurt very much,” Molly told the room as she used her elbow to push herself back into a more comfortable position on the couch. It was only then that she spotted the tear in her skirt which was when she screamed.

Julian ran back with eyes as wide as saucers.

“It’s alright, Molly. I have painkillers here!”

“Nooo! It’s my skirt!” She pointed at the tear with a slightly bloody finger which only drove the point further home.

“Oh, okay.” Julian sighed in relief and took her small hands in his. “Don’t worry, we can fix that. Just let me do your hands first, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed but pouted slightly. “How do we fix clothing? Is there a regenerator for cloth?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I’ll tell you what though, my friend Garak is a tailor. How about after we fix your hands, we go down to him and have him fix it, okay?” Julian ran a disinfectant and painkiller over her palms then began the careful tasks of plucking the shards out.

“Alright! Is he the Cardassian that Daddy doesn’t like?” She was surprisingly cheerful for a child getting shards pulled out of her palms.

“I suppose he is, yes.” Julian laughed slightly but thought Miles really is going to kill me. “I don’t think Miles likes him much, but he is my friend, and he is an excellent tailor.”

“Then he must be alright.”

“Yes, I hope so.” Julian removed the last shard from her palms and began to run a dermal regenerator over them. After a few passes, they were nearly completely gone. “Well, I’ll run this over them again in a few hours and those little marks should be gone.”

Molly flexed her healed hands.

“It’s itchy!”

“Yeah, it will be, but don’t scratch it. It’ll stop itching soon.”

Molly hopped off the couch.

“Can we fix this now?” She held out the edge of her skirt where the tear was.

“Um, yes. I suppose so. Let’s go to Garak’s shop, he’s usually reopened by now.”

Molly reached for Julian’s hand and marched towards the door, dragging Julian behind her. Julian had to jog a few steps to catch up with the determined child. Then entered the turbolift and Molly bounced on her toes in impatience. Molly pulled Julian off the turbolift when it reached the promenade then paused when she realized she did not know where she was going. Julian ushered her towards Garak’s shop and was relieved to see the light on. They passed through the door to see Garak with his head bent over a garment wearing his monocle. Molly giggled and Julian smiled when Garak looked up and his eyewear magnified one of his blue eyes.

“Hello, Garak.” Julian grinned wider when Garak made the monocle’s effect worse by his eyes widening in surprise.

“Doctor, what a surprise.” Garak took off the monocle and stood. “And young Miss O’Brien. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Hi, I tore my skirt.” Molly pointed at the tear in her hem. “Can you fix it? My grandmother sent it to me all the way from Earth! It was made in Scot- Scotfield?”

“Scotfield?” Garak raised his eye ridges.

“Scotland,” Julian quickly corrected and Molly nodded vigorously.

“Ah! Well, I’m sure we can figure something out for it.” He gestured to a nearby stool and Molly stepped up with Julian’s help.

“I’m watching her for the day and she tripped over the hem,” Julian answered Garak’s questioning look.

“I see.” Garak knelt and picked up the torn edges of the skirt to study it for a moment then stood. “Well, this should be easy to fix, Miss O’Brien.”

“Oh, thank you!” Molly bounced happily.

“Don’t thank me yet, my dear.” Garak smiled at her and offered her his hand to help her step down. She took his hand and hopped off. “Doctor, if I’m not mistaken, Starfleet doctors are trained in old techniques for emergency situations including sewing?”

“Oh, well.” Julian shifted from foot to foot and looked away. “That’s for humanoid tissue, not cloth. As far as I know, cloth doesn’t heal itself as long as you get it close enough. Also, I didn’t have a needle and thread.”

“Hmm. Well, could you not have replicated some?” Garak smiled at Julian.

“I suppose I could have, but I wanted an expert.” Julian smiled back. And besides, I wanted to see you, he thought, and then wondered where that came from.

“Uncle Julian says you are a very good tailor,” Molly added.

“Does he?” Garak raised an eye ridge at the slightly blushing doctor. “Do you happen to have other clothes for her to change into?”

“No, she’s only staying with me for the day.”

“No matter, I’m sure I can find something.” After some searching, Garak found a skirt with several buttons to tighten the waist and would hang below her knees. Garak handed her the skirt and ushered her into a changing room. Garak turned back to Julian who was leaning on the main table. “I wasn’t aware that you looked after the O’Briens’ child.”

“I don’t normally. The Fredericks are taking a vacation and Keiko’s on Bajor for a few days. Miles couldn’t take her to work today so I offered to watch her until Keiko gets back this evening or he gets off work.”

“I assume Chief O’Brien doesn’t know you brought her to me?”

“Uh, no.” Julian sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “I bet after today I won’t be watching Molly again. She dropped a plate and got a bunch of shards in her palm which I was able to heal, but I can’t believe I let that happen in the first place, and then she noticed that her skirt was torn and I just didn’t know how to fix that so I came here…”

“Well, don’t worry, I don’t plan on eating her. She has nothing to fear from me.” Garak smiled when Julian laughed lightly. “And she seems none the worse for wear after your tender care.”

“Hey! I was first in my class in pediatrics at Starfleet med school.”

“I’m sure.” Garak laughed at Julian’s feigned indignation. “But, in all seriousness, Molly seems to be a happy child and seems to enjoy spending time with her ‘uncle’ Julian.”

Julian smiled at Garak then dropped his gaze for a moment. Molly came out of the dressing room. She handed Garak her skirt.

“This should only take a few moments. Please, have a seat.” Garak gestured to a small couch but Molly had spotted Julian hopping up to sit on the table when Garak’s back was turned. She ran over to him and he deftly picked her up to place her next to him on the table. Garak gave a harumph that would make Odo proud and made Molly giggle. Both Molly and Julian swung their legs, creating a rippling effect in the fabric that hung from the edge of the table to the floor. Garak gave them a mildly disapproving, but amused look before returning to his work table with Molly’s skirt. He picked up a few pins to clasp the torn fabric together at the correct angle to match the pleats. He then turned the skirt inside out to sew the new seam.

“Did doctors really used to sew people back together like that?” Molly whispered to Julian as they both watched Garak work in fascination.

“Not like that, no. Not with pins or a machine. They used staples or a curved needle and small pliers to make little individual stitches.”

“Sounds painful.” Molly shuddered.

“It is but it does work.”

Both Julian’s and Molly’s attention was brought back to the skirt from their conversation as Garak used a small edge on the machine to cut the threads with a slight flourish. He stood and brought Molly her skirt. She excitedly took it and dashed for the changing room.

“Thanks. How much do I own you?”

“Nothing.” Garak waved his hand dismissively and leaned against the table next to Julian.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Quite sure.”

“But—”

“Doctor, this entire venture has taken less than five minutes and has given me a chance to stretch my legs and get a break from that damned purple fabric. It is a beautiful color and a lovely fabric, but I have been staring at yards of it for the entire week.”

“Alright, well, thank you.” Julian chuckled and smiled at Garak.

“Don’t thank me yet, wait until I make sure it hangs right.”

At that moment, Molly bustled out of the changing room with the borrowed skirt folded as neatly as a young child could and wearing her newly repaired skirt.

“Ah!” Garak took the folded skirt from Molly and led her back to the stool. He knelt to examine the repair as Julian slid off the table to look at it over his shoulder.

“I can barely tell it was torn.” Julian squinted and knelt next to Garak with their shoulders pressing together so he could reach for the hem of the skirt where the tear had been. Garak quickly let go of the fabric when Julian’s hand brushed over his and stood.

“Yes, that should do.” He turned his back to Julian and placed the other skirt on the table.

“Thank you!” Molly beamed at Garak when he turned back. When Julian stood and helped Molly step down from the stool. She rushed over to Garak and hugged him around the knees which was a high as she could reach. His eyes widened and he nearly stumbled back into the table. He placed his hand on her back and patted awkwardly.

“You are quite welcome, my dear.” He looked helplessly at Julian who was grinning ear to ear. Molly let go and grinned up at Garak briefly. Then she ran back over to Julian to grab his hand and began to drag him back to the door.

“Come on, I have more drawings to show you.”

“Uh— right.” Julian waved at Garak. “Uh, thanks again. I’ll— um— I’ll see you in a few days for lunch?”

Garak nodded silently at a rapidly vanishing Julian. He remained where his guests had left him and blinked slowly for several moments. _What the hell just happened?_

* * *

_What on earth (or in space?) had just happened?_ Julian also blinked in confusion in the turbolift. Molly’s chatter on the way back to his quarters. He managed to focus on Molly’s drawing as she explained each. For the rest of the afternoon, she and Julian laid on their stomachs and colored until it was time for Molly to return to her parents. As the time approached, Julian grew more anxious about telling Miles and Keiko about their day. By the time they reached the door to the O’Briens’ quarters, Julian was rapidly tapping his fingers against the outside of his thigh. He took a deep breath as Keiko opened the door.

“Molly! It’s so good to see you!” She picked up her daughter and gave Julian a one-armed hug. “Julian! Thank you for taking care of her today!”

“Ohh, you’re welcome.”

“How was your day?” Keiko gestured Julian inside and directed her question to both of them.

“Oh, quite uneventful,” Julian said as Molly said, “I tripped and broke a plate and Uncle Julian had to pick glass out of my hands and fix the cuts but then I noticed I had torn my skirt!”

Molly kicked her foot out to show her mother where the tear had been.

“Oh, really?” Keiko raised an eyebrow at Julian who grimaced. Keiko placed Molly on a couch and examined her hands.

“I disinfected them and ran a regenerator over them. There won’t even be any scarring. And she didn’t seem too upset, she was a very good patient,” he said apologetically.

“Looks fine. I suppose if there’s anyone good to get hurt around, the station’s CMO is probably the best.” Keiko smiled at Julian then began to examine the hem of her skirt.

“Yes, I suppose so.” Julian let out a breath in relief. “How was Bajor?”

“Oh, it was good,” she said distractedly. “Honey, I can’t find a tear. Are you sure you tore it?”

“Oh, yes, but then Uncle Julian took me to his friend who’s a tailor and he fixed it.” Molly picked up the hem where the repair was for her mother to peer at.

“You did what?” Unnoticed by all, Miles had entered the living area and stared at Julian in disbelief. “You took her to a Cardassian who was a known spy for the Obsidian order?”

“Suspected spy,” Julian corrected, but quickly realized it was the wrong thing to say when Miles’ face flushed red. “Miles, I was with her the entire time! And we were there for all of five minutes.”

“Miles, don’t be ridiculous. She’s fine and the tear is barely visible. It’s much better than I could have done.” Keiko strove to diffuse the situation, but few angry people are made not angry by being told to not be ridiculous.

“I’m not being ridiculous! He’s dangerous! I can’t for the life of me understand why you’re friends with him, Julian, and I’ll be damned before I let you drag my daughter into it too.”

“They smile at each other a lot,” Molly spoke with surprising force for such a small girl.

“What?” Miles deflated and looked at his daughter.

“I think that’s why they’re friends. They smile at each other a lot and they make each other laugh. And Uncle Julian says he’s a good tailor.” Molly had been admiring the repair in her skirt then looked up at her father. “He was nice to me, too. When can I see Uncle Garak again?”

“Uhh—” Miles looked from his daughter to his wife, absolutely flabbergasted. Julian also stared at Molly in utter bewilderment.

“Out of the mouths of babes,” Keiko said with a shrug and a smile.


End file.
